LAMB-BREEDING FOR THE MEAT TRADE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVII, Issue 5, 20 November 1923, Page 294

LAMB-BREEDING FOR THE MEAT TRADE.

WHITE-FACED BREEDS AND CROSSES

J. G. COOK,

Live-stock Division

In the Journal for January last (page 50) were published some notes by the writer on the Down breeds and crosses for the fat-lamb trade. Other sheep breeds and crosses represented in New Zealand are dealt with in the present article.

It will be'well to emphasize, in the first place, the importance of selecting breeds or their crosses suitable to the climatic and land conditions of the locality or farm. A great deal depends on whether the land is heavy or light, swampy, arable, or tussock, or bush-burn country, and so on. Raising sheep or lambs under conditions which are in their favour will, as a rule, yield satisfactory returns, whereas the reverse will be the result if it is attempted under conditions which do not allow the sheep a fair chance of doing the best they are capable of. The consumer is not concerned about the breed of the lamb or mutton he buys, but looks for meat of good quality and colour, with a large proportion of lean. . ' '

■ In New Zealand we have several of the white-faced, longwool breeds — Romney Marsh, Lincoln, English Leicester, Border Leicester, and Wensleydale. Cotswolds and Cheviots were kept some years ago, but it was found that conditions did not suit them, and their breeding was consequently abandoned. Rams from each of the breeds named were mated with Merino ewes in several provincial districts, with the object of ascertaining which cross would produce lambs with a carcase most suitable for the frozen-meat trade.

LINCOLN CROSSES

The Lincoln ram mated with the Merino ewe produced good results, the progeny being called half-breds. The lamb is of good frame but compact, and, although it takes more time to fatten when compared with some other lines, this cross is greatly in favour in one or two important sheep districts. If not sold as a fat lamb the animal usually develops into a fine hogget, and cuts a good fleece of shafty combing-wool. If topped off after shearing it will make a good freezing carcase, and always sells well. The ewes of this cross are always of value, as, having normally a very sound constitution, they grow into a really good line.

This class of ewe can be mated with a half-bred ram if it is desired to keep to the half-bred line, but, if desired, ewes can be mated back to the Lincoln ram. The progeny from the latter crossing is termed ■three-quarter-bred — that is, three-fourths longwool and one-quarter Merino. This is a good line, but, coming back to the longwool, the meat is somewhat coarser in the grain than that of the first cross. Experience, too, shows that the three-quarter-bred takes longer to fatten than the half-bred.

The three-quarter-bred ewe can be mated with a Southdown ram, the progeny making an excellent freezing line. . With the first cross (half-bred) and the second cross (three-quarter-bred), the lines throw to the Lincoln ram in the length of the wool. Further, they keep the wool on well, as the tip is harder and stands a good deal more knocking about than with some other crosses.

ENGLISH LEICESTER

The crossing . of English Leicester rams ’ with Merino ewes gives a very fine line- of lambs, also termed half-bred. This lamb catches the eye on account of-its well-shaped head (which also makes the lambing easier), well-sprung ribs,, nice broad back, and full rump and short legs, with meaty hind quarters. It was on this cross that Canterbury Province mainly built up its world reputation for “ prime Canterbury ” in both lamb and mutton, and it will always hold good.

If not required for slaughtering as lambs, but intended for sale after being shorn as hoggets, the animals should be kept in a progressing condition up to the time required, when with but a little topping-off they are ready for the market. When intended to be kept on the place until four- or six-tooth, they can be grazed on the higher country, and, according to the feed available, kept there until about eight or ten weeks before selling, when they should be brought in, put on to good feed, and finished. This line will always cut a good fleece of shafty combing-wool which is sought after by buyers. The ewes are'valuable, and if it is desired to keep to the same line they can be mated with half-bred rams. If mated with the English Leicester ram the progeny will be three-quarter-breds. Wether lambs should be sold off as soon as they are fat enough for the market.

If the ewes of the line are kept and classed out the coarser-woolled animals should be mated with Southdown rams and the. finer-woolled with the Shropshire. In either case.the line produced will be a good freezing one, and the quality of the wool more even than would be the case if the ewes had not been classed out and mated with one breed of Down ram only. Any lambs produced by using Down rams are best sold off the place , as soon as ready for market, because their strong point is meat and not wool-production. None of the Down cross should be allowed to get in among the breeding-ewes, as by keeping the , breeding-flock separate the class of rams required are easier worked than if there was a mixture of all breeds throughout the ewe flock.

BORDER LEICESTER

The progeny of the Border Leicester rams and the Merino ewe again termed half-bred rather a smart-looking lamb with ears nearly always pricked, showing that the animal is on the alert. These lambs , are good travellers, and meet with a ready sale. They fatten fairly quickly, throwing to the Border Leicester in that respect. They have to be got away fairly early, as later on they are inclined to run to leg, which, when killed, shows a bit long in the shank-bone, making the carcase look longer. The meat, however, is of a good, cleanlooking colour.- There is also commonly a fault as regards the wool, which is somewhat on the light side.. . This becomes more apparent

as the sheep ages, and is termed “ going off in the wool.” If the ewes of the half-bred line are kept on the place, and it is desired to keep to and breed the same line, they should be mated with the half-bred ram-. If the ewes are mated with the Border Leicester ram the progeny will be three-quarter-breds. The whole line may be sold off as fat lambs, but if any ewes are retained they can be mated with either Southdown or Shropshire rams. After the subsequent lambing, when ewes and lambs are ready for market they should be sold off. .

The Border Leicester ram is used a good deal in Canterbury and north Otago for producing half-bred lambs. In the rest of Otago and in Southland the ram is used a great deal to mate with Romney ewes. The lambs from this crossing are good doers, and they usually kill out at high weights.

CHEVIOT, WENSLEYDALE, AND COTSWOLD.

In the past Cheviot rams were sometimes mated, with Merino ewes, and for a while this cross progressed in one or two of the southern districts, but as time went on, and the Border Leicester, Romney, English Leicester, and Lincoln breeds and their crosses were found to be more suitable, the Cheviot was dropped.

Some years ago the Wensleydale was mated with small numbers of Merino ewes, but this cross was not kept going like the other lines mentioned. The half-bred lamb produced was somewhat similar to the English Leicester ram and Merino ewe cross, but the few farmers who had the line did not keep to it. They might have done so had the importation of the rams been more frequent or numerous.

Mating of the Cotswold ram with' Merino ewes produced rather a good lamb, but there was a good deal of trouble in lambing, and the cross is now practically out of existence as far as New Zealand is concerned. In the “ sixties ” and “ seventies ” there were a fair number of them in this country.

ROMNEY

. The Romney Marsh ram mated with the Merino ewe gives a good strong lamb. The progeny (half-bred) mature fairly quickly, but they have not been bred to the same extent as the Lincoln-Merino) English Leicester - Merino, or Border Leicester - Merino crossings. It was with the Romney ram and Merino ewe progeny that the late Mr. James Little first tried inbreeding. The . Romney is mostly used for crossing with other longwools, more especially in the North Island and the Westland and Southland Districts, where it gives very satisfactory results. The Romney is the predominating breed in New Zealand. ’

RYELAND.

The Ryeland breed is also suitable for the fat-lamb or mutton trade, the body being square, compact, with a good loin and , well-filled leg. The line matures quickly, thus coming to hand early, and there is a good percentage of lambs sold direct off the ewes. Needless to say, when this can be done with any breed or cross it lowers the cost of production to the grower. Then, there is the first-cross produced by mating Ryeland rams with.ewes of other breeds. The progeny

of the cross with any of the Down ewes make an excellent line and mature quickly. Mated with half-bred or Corriedale ewes the line produced is a good one, but takes slightly, longer to fatten than the Down cross. The progeny of the cross, with Romney, Border Leicester, English Leicester, or crossbred ewes is usually very suitable for the meat trade.

DORSET HORN

The Dorset Horn is another breed suitable for either fat lamb or mutton. Only a few have been imported into New Zealand at different times, and thus there has not been enough of the breed about to make it conspicuous. It has been noticed,- however, that when the rams were mated with other lines of ewes the progeny came to hand early and gave a suitable carcase.

CORRIEDALE

Finally, reference must be made to a breed of purely New Zealand origin, the Corriedale. Owing to the strain of Merino in it, this breed takes a little longer to fatten than some others, but when ready it makes a very good carcase. The meat is nicely fine in the grain and pleasant to the palate. If unable to fatten the lambs in time they can with safety be held over. The hogget gives a fleece of splendid wool, after which it can be fattened and sold. If the ewes are held for breeding purposes they may be counted on for a lamb and a good fleece every year as long as their teeth last.

INCIDENCE OF THE FAT-LAMB INDUSTRY.

In order to give an indication of the extent and distribution of fatlamb raising in New Zealand the gradings of the lambs slaughtered during the 5 J years’ period of the Imperial meat requisition (1915-20) are here set out as follows :—-

■ Specially prime and Canterbury quality : North Island, 543,546 carcases ; South Island, 5,804,527 ; Dominion total, 6,348,073.

First quality, 42 lb. and under : North Island, 4,411,941 ; South Island, 1,734,913 ; Dominion, 6,146,854.

First quality, over 42 lb. : North Island, 257,459 ; South Island, 1,125,842 ; Dominion, 1,383,301.

Second quality : North Island, 987,882 ; South Island, 1,938,142 Dominion, 2,926,024.

Of the above aggregate total for the Dominion of 16,804,252 carcases the number killed at the freezing-works in the Canterbury Province was 7,158,149, graded as follows: Specially prime and Canterbury quality, 5,029,994 ; first quality, 42 lb. and under, 279,029 ; first quality, over 42 lb., 677,399; second quality,- 1,171,727. This leaves 9,646,103 which were killed at the remainder of the meat-export works in the Dominion.